Rhythm Song FOR PEDAL HARP ENSEMBLE

by Erin Freund

Rhythm Song gets its mesmeric feel from its meters that shift between 7/8 and 3/4, its pentatonic minor scale, and its subtle polyphonic layers.  Rhythm Song is pedal-change-free using a pedal digram that creates enharmonics, and incorporates extended techniques including fingernail glissandos, choral fluxes, and knocking on the soundboard.  Rhythm Song is a fantasy on orchestral excerpts; harpists practicing orchestral excerpts will recognize passages from some of their pieces in their harp parts, using the same stings and rhythms (and fingerings if they choose) as in the original orchestral pieces, only with a different sound, due to the pentatonic pedal setting. Brief excerpts have been drawn from Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol (fifth movement), Claude Debussy’s La Mer (first movement), and the Benjamin Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra (harp variation, and fugue).  It can be performed by 4 or 5 harps (the 5th harp part is optional).

Instrumentation: Pedal harp 

Difficulty: Late intermediate

Publisher: Tropp Music Editions

Format: Score and 5 parts

Publication Length: Score (25p); Hp1 (5p); Hp2 (5p); Hp3 (5p); Hp4 (5p); Hp5 (5p)

Performance Duration: 10 minutes